U.S. patent number 4,890,753 [Application Number 07/189,980] was granted by the patent office on 1990-01-02 for pharmaceutical container and method and apparatus for assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Creative Automation, Inc.. Invention is credited to Allen M. Bartlo, George Duryee.
United States Patent |
4,890,753 |
Duryee , et al. |
January 2, 1990 |
Pharmaceutical container and method and apparatus for assembly
Abstract
The invention relates to a pharmaceutical bottle having a neck
region with an open end, pills therein, a fibrous hygroscope
member, such as a cotton wad, in the neck region of said bottle and
a closure cap sealing the bottle opening. The neck region has on
its inner surface a leaflet retaining ring which serves to hold the
leaflet in place within the bottle immediately after the insertion.
The tendency of the leaflet to unfold or open, causes the edges of
the leaflet to engage the retaining ring and to be held in place at
least until the bottle is sealed. The leaflet is in compression
engagement with the fibrous hygroscope member, such that the pills
are substantially prevented from moving relative to one
another.
Inventors: |
Duryee; George (Oakland,
NJ), Bartlo; Allen M. (Bridgewater, NJ) |
Assignee: |
Creative Automation, Inc.
(Passaic, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
22699566 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/189,980 |
Filed: |
May 4, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/231; 206/232;
206/534; 206/540; 206/814; 206/828; 215/227; 53/115; 53/120;
53/429; 53/436; 53/472; 53/474; 53/527 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B
61/22 (20130101); Y10S 206/828 (20130101); Y10S
206/814 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65B
61/22 (20060101); B65B 61/20 (20060101); B65B
001/24 (); B65B 055/00 (); B65B 061/22 (); B65D
001/40 () |
Field of
Search: |
;53/50,115,117,120,238,415,429,436,472,474,527
;206/215,232,358,807,814,828,205,540,534 ;215/227,228,230,231 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Spruill; Robert L.
Assistant Examiner: Bianca; Betrh
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Parker; Sheldon H.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A pharmaceutical bottle having a neck region with an open end,
pills therein, a fibrous hygroscope member in the neck region of
said bottle and a closure means sealing the bottle opening, said
neck region having on its inner surface a leaflet retaining surface
discontinuity, a leaflet, said leaflet being in compression
engagement with said fibrous hygroscope member, whereby said pills
are substantially prevented from moving relative to one
another.
2. The method of substantially preventing pills contained within a
bottle from moving relative to one another, said pharmaceutical
bottle having a neck region with an open end, pills therein, a
fibrous hygroscope member in the neck region of said bottle and a
closure means sealing the bottle opening, said neck region having
on its surface a leaflet retaining surface discontinuity and
leaflet, said method comprising inserting said pills into said
pharmaceutical bottle, inserting said fibrous hygroscope member in
the neck region of said bottle and inserting said leaflet into said
neck region of said bottle, maintaining said leaflet in compression
engagement with said fibrous hygroscope member, whereby said pills
are substantially precluded from moving relative to one
another.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton.
4. The article of claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton.
5. The article of claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton and wherein said leaflet retaining surface discontinuity is
an inwardly extending ridge.
6. The article of claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton and wherein said leaflet retaining surface discontinuity is
an inwardly extending ridge which extends at least along a
substantial portion of the inner surface of said neck region.
7. The article of claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton and wherein said leaflet retaining surface discontinuity is
an inwardly extending ridge which rings around the inner surface of
said neck region and lies in a plane which is substantially
parallel to the plane of the bottle opening.
8. The article of claim 1, wherein said hygroscopic member is
cotton, said leaflet retaining surface discontinuity is an inwardly
extending ridge which rings around the inner surface of said neck
region and said leaflet is a folded member having a "U"-shaped fold
with its folded region engaging said cotton and its corners
engaging said inwardly extending ridge.
9. The article of claim 1, further comprising a closure cap means
and wherein said hygroscopic member is cotton, said leaflet
retaining surface discontinuity is an inwardly extending ridge
which rings around the inner surface of said neck region and said
leaflet is a folded member having its folded region engaging said
cotton and its corners engaging said inwardly extending ridge.
10. The article of claim 1, further comprising a closure cap means
and wherein said hygroscopic member is cotton, said leaflet
retaining surface discontinuity is an inwardly extending ridge
which rings around the inner surface of said neck region and said
leaflet is a folded member having its folded region engaging said
cotton and wherein said closure means prevents outward movement of
said leaflet.
11. The method of inserting a leaflet into a pharmaceutical bottle,
said pharmaceutical bottle having a neck region with an open end,
pills therein, a fibrous hygroscope member in the neck region of
said bottle and a closure means sealing the bottle opening, said
neck region having on its inner surface a leaflet retaining surface
discontinuity, said method comprising the steps of;
(a) lowering a plunger until it engages a leaflet,
(b) forcing said leaflet through a slot thereby folding said
leaflet,
(c) inserting said leaflet into said bottle until said leaflet
compresses said hygroscopic member and said leaflet is fully within
said bottle,
(d) maintaining said leaflet in compression engagement with said
fibrous hygroscope member for a period at least sufficient to
permit said leaflet to partially unfold and engage said retaining
surface discontinuity thereby holding said leaflet in place,
(e) removing said plunger from said bottle.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of sealing
said bottle with sealing means and thereby locking said leaflet
under compression between said seal and said hygroscopic member,
whereby said pills are substantially precluded from moving relative
to one another.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said hygroscopic member is a
wad of cotton.
14. Apparatus for inserting a leaflet into a pharmaceutical bottle,
said pharmaceutical bottle having a neck region with an open end,
pills therein, a fibrous hygroscopic member in the neck region of
said bottle, said apparatus comprising;
(a) means for delivering a single leaflet from a stack of leaflets
to a leaflet receiving position,
(b) means to fold said leaflet
(c) inserting and maintaining means, said inserting and maintaining
means be positioned to insert said folded leaflet into said bottle
until said leaflet compresses said hygroscopic member and said
leaflet is fully within said bottle, said inserting and maintaining
means retaining said leaflet in place and maintaining said leaflet
in compression engagement with said fibrous hygroscope member for a
period at least sufficient to permit said leaflet to partially
unfold and be retained in place,
(d) means for sealing said bottle thereby locking said leaflet
under compression between said seal and said hygroscopic member,
whereby said pills are substantially prcluded from moving relative
to one another.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said means to fold said
leaflet is slot means and plunger means, said plunger means being
mounted for movement from a first position above a leaflet to a
second position whereby said leaflet is forced through said
slot.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said means for sealing said
bottle includes a bottle cap.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said means for delivering a
single leaflet from a stack of leaflets to a leaflet receiving
position, includes retainer means for maintaining a plurality of
leaflets in a vertical stack and transfer means for transferring
the lowest leaflet in said stack to said leaflet receiving
position.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said leaflet receiving
position includes a leaflet receiving recess and wherein said slot
means is centrally positioned in said recess.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said means for delivering a
single leaflet from a stack of leaflets to a leaflet receiving
position, includes retainer means for maintaining a plurality of
leaflets in a vertical stack and transfer means for transferring
the lowest leaflet in said stack to said leaflet receiving position
and wherein said transfer means includes a feeder knife means and
pressure cylinder means, said feeder knife means being positioned
to engage a side edge of the lowermost leaflet, said feeder knife
means being moved by said pressure cylinder for moving said
lowermost leaflet from said stack to said leaflet receiving
recess.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said retainer means includes
a front side, said front side being vertically adjustable to
accommodate leaflets of varying thickness, whereby said feeder
knife means transfers a single leaflet in each pass.
21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said bottles are guided
along a predetermined path by a plurality of adjustable guide
members and further comprising electric eye means, plurality of
bottle stop means and bottle barrier means, said first electric eye
means actuating said bottle stop means and said bottle barrier
means, whereby a plurality of bottles are retained in predetermined
positions by said plurality of bottle stop means and said bottle
barrier means prevents bottles from entering into the region of
said predetermined positions.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a leaflet insertion system for placing a
leaflet into the neck of a pharmaceutical bottle and, more
particularly, to an apparatus for and method of inserting a leaflet
into a pharmaceutical bottle, as well as to pharmaceutical bottle
having a cotton insert compressing leaflet.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The pharmaceutical industry has been attempting to include
informational disclosure sheets or leaflets with prescription
medicines, vitamins as well as generic non-prescription drugs.
Equipment is known for insertion of articles into containers, as
for example disclosed in Williams, Sr. et al., U.S. Pat. No.
4,084,391 which discloses an apparatus which packages towelettes in
envelopes. The towelettes are folded into thirds prior to insertion
and then sealed within the envelope. While it is considered to be
preferable to incorporate the document or leaflet into the bottle,
the cotton which is typically included in the bottle interferes
with the insertion of the leaflet. Consequently, it has become a
common practice to adhere the leaflet to thee outer surface of the
bottle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been found that the shortcoming of the prior art systems can
be overcome through the use of a novel leaflet insertion system. In
accordance with the present invention a pharmaceutical bottle is
provided which has a neck region with an open end. The neck region
has on its inner surface a leaflet retaining ring which serves to
hold the leaflet in place within the bottle immediately after the
insertion. The bottle contains pills and a fibrous hygroscope
member, such as a cotton wad, in its neck region. The leaflet is in
compression engagement with the fibrous hygroscope member, such
that the pills are substantially prevented from moving relative to
one another.
The method of the invention involves inserting a leaflet into the
pharmaceutical bottle, by lowering a plunger until it engages a
leaflet and forces the leaflet through a slot thereby folding the
leaflet. The leaflet is inserted into the bottle until the leaflet
compresses the hygroscopic member and the leaflet is fully within
the bottle. The leaflet is maintained in compression engagement
with the fibrous hygroscope member for a period at least sufficient
to permit the leaflet to partially unfold and engage the retaining
surface discontinuity thereby holding the leaflet in place, at
least until the bottle is sealed. Thereby the leaflet is locked
under compression between the seal and the hygroscopic member, such
that the pills are substantially precluded from moving relative to
one another.
The apparatus for inserting a leaflet into a pharmaceutical bottle,
includes a mechanism for delivering a single leaflet from a stack
of leaflets to a leaflet receiving position a plunger for folding
the leaflet, inserting the leaflet into the bottle and compressing
the hygroscopic member. The plunger motion is timed such that the
plunger maintains the leaflet in compression engagement with the
fibrous hygroscopic member for a period at least sufficient to
permit the leaflet to partially unfold and engage the retaining
surface discontinuity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent
and the invention will be more fully understood from the following
specification, particularly when read in conjunction with the
drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a pharmaceutical bottle with
cotton in the neck region;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the pharmaceutical bottle of FIG. 1, shown
below a portion of the leaflet conveyor system;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the pharmaceutical bottle of FIG. 2 with a
leaflet inserted;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the pharmaceutical bottle of FIG. 3, shown
with the leaflet locked in place;
FIG. 5 a fragmentary side view of the pharmaceutical bottle of FIG.
4, shown with a cap in place;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top view of a series of containers
traveling through a conveyor system;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of the
leaflet insertion system of the instant invention; and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view, of the leaflet insertion system of
the instant invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The filled pharmaceutical bottle 10 is shown in FIG. 1 with the
cotton 30 in place. The insertion of the cotton can be accomplished
in accordance with any known system, as for example, U.S. Pat. No.
2,895,269 to Lasko et al. The pharmaceutical bottle 10 has a screw
thread 14 which extends along the neck 12 ending at or near the
ridge 18. The concave inner recesses 16 are inverse to the screw
threads 14 on the outer surface of the neck 12 of the
pharmaceutical bottle 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the pharmaceutical bottle 10 of FIG. 1, has
been moved along the conveyor in readiness for placement of the
leaflet 22. It is essential that the leaflet have a sufficient
resistance to being folded so that when the folding pressure is
released it will unfold and have sufficient spring to grip the
ridge 18 and be held in place at least until the bottle is sealed.
The pharmaceutical bottle 10 is placed under the sleeve 26 of the
leaflet support system indicated generally as 20. The leaflet 22
has been previously placed in the recess 28 as described
hereinafter in greater detail. The positioning of the leaflet 22
can also be by means of processes well known in prior art loading
machines. The plunger 24, which moves in a vertical direction, is
lowered to extend into the pharmaceutical bottle 10 thereby pushing
the leaflet 22 into the open neck 12 of the pharmaceutical bottle
10. Immediately upon entering the bottle the leaflet 22 is folded
over as illustrated in FIG. 3. The folding action is well known in
the prior art and can be found in prior Removing the plunger 24 at
this time would result in the cotton 30 pushing U.S. patents such
as, U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,798 to Clancy, wherein a plunger 44 folds
and inserts an article into a container 46. Additional examples of
folding and insertion can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,973,373 and
4,472,923.
As shown in FIG. 3, the leaflet 22 compresses the cotton 30 thereby
being forced up and out of the pharmaceutical bottle 10. Because of
the economic demands for high speed operations, the plunger 24
would normally be moved rapidly for quick insertion and withdrawal.
However, as the plunger 24 is withdrawn the leaflet 22 follows
behind due to the force of the cotton and extends out of the neck
12 as the leaflet 22 opens somewhat due to the opening or unfolding
force of the folded region 23. It is critical that the timing on
the machine must be set to prevent movement of the pharmaceutical
bottle 10 and the plunger 24 for a time sufficient to allow the
leaflet 22 to oen as illustrated in FIG. 4. Depending upon the
factors which control the tendency of the folded leaflet to spring
open, such as the nature of the material from which the leaflet 22
is made, the thickness of the material, and the number of folds,
the timed delay can be from a fraction of a second up through
several seconds. In order to insure a strong unfolding action, the
fold should preferably be a "U" -shaped fold as seen in FIGS. 3 and
4, rather than a single sharp crease. U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,435 is
noted to show a typical fold configuration in FIG. 2. Although this
delay causes a slow down in the process, it is critical to the
leaflet 22 remaining in the pharmaceutical bottle 10 until a cap 50
is threaded onto the pharmaceutical bottle 10, as illustrated in
FIG. 5.
When held down by the plunger 24, as shown in FIG. 3, and allowed
to open while being pressed down into the cotton 30 positions the
edges of the leaflet 22 to catch on the ridge 18 of the
pharmaceutical bottle 11 when the pressure of the plunger 24 is
released. The cotton 30 pushes the leaflet 22 upward while the
pharmaceutical bottle 11 ridge 18 prevents the leaflet 22 from
popping out. The pharmaceutical bottle 11 is then ready to receive
the cap 50. Depending upon the design of the pharmaceutical bottle
10, the interaction between the leaflet 22 and the pharmaceutical
bottle 10 can be at the ridge 18 or with the inner recess 16 or any
other projection or recess provided for the specific purpose of
interacting with the leaflet 22, or which exists fortuitously for
any other reason.
The leaflet has been found to maintain the cotton under compression
thereby preventing movement of the pills contained within the
bottle. It should be understood that the term pill is intended to
include caplets, capsules and the like. Movement of the pills
relative to one another is thereby prevented, consequently serving
to protect the pills from damage during shipping and other handling
operations.
FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate a bottle transport and leaflet feeding
assembly which can be used in the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 6, a plurality of retractable stops are employed to stop the
movement of bottles though the system.
The bottles are guided along by a pair of rails 70 and 71 which are
adjustable to accommodate bottles of varying size. The number of
stops is selected based on the economics of the system and although
three units are illustrated any desired number can be used. The
direction of motion of the bottles is indicated by the arrow 59.
The first electric eye encountered by the bottles permits three
bottles to pass before activating the bottle stop 65 and the bottle
barrier 66. The bottle stops are design to retain a bottle in a
predetermined position and is provided with a concave surface 58 in
order to accommodate variations in the bottle position. The second
electric eye encountered by the bottles permits two bottles to pass
before activating the bottle stop 64. When it encounters a single
bottle, the furthest downstream electric eye 60 activates the
pressure cylinder 80 thereby causing the bottle stop 63 to grip a
bottle.
A leaflet feeding and insertion assembly, as shown in FIG. 8, is
provided above each bottle stop unit. The feeder knife 75 is
activated by an air pressure cylinder 74 which removes the
lowermost leaflet from the stack and transports it to the leaflet
receiving recess 28. The front side 80, of the leaflet retaining
unit 78 can be vertically adjustable to accommodate leaflets of
varying thickness, thereby enabling the feeder knife to transfer a
single leaflet. As shown in FIG. 8, the plunger 24 can move
downward thereby forcing the leaflet 22 to be folded and forced
into the bottle below. Control assemblies, vacuum or compressed air
powered pistons and timing controls are all well known in the art
and does not form a part of the instant invention. Such mechanisms
can be found in the prior art, as for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.
3,973,373 and 4,084,391 which show fold blade 109 and associated
mechanisms and controls such as controls 134 of FIG. 1, as well as
U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,923 which discloses piston rods 16, U.S. Pat.
Nos. 3,439,469 and 3,803,798 which disclose powered folding
mechanisms. The operation of pressure cylinders and timing
mechanisms is well known in the art and consequently need not be
described herein.
* * * * *